freelance videographer resources

Does anyone have a recommendation for a resource for quality freelance videographers across the country? Our immediate need is in the Boston area, but as our travel increases exponentially, we are interested in finding trusted freelancer shooters in a number of regions.

The Creative Cow is a great place to be. You can even post in the job opening forum when you are ready to hire out. Also stay active on LinkedIn. You can find some talent there by searching and building your community of contacts. You can also get plugged in on media groups in local markets. For instance I live in Arizona and there are a couple Media Professional groups that anyone can check out/join/post job openings.

or you can use Crews Control... BUT I agree with Jeff and would start here on the COW. You want to first post under the COW section "JOBS Offered - Higher Pay" then ask those who reply to detail equipment and show you a reel. This is the kind of screening that World Communications and Crews Control provide in exchange for the higher fee they likely charge than going direct.

I've had very good luck here when looking for skilled people. My experiences looking for lower-skilled PAs or Jr. grips has not been good, kind of like a 'luck of the draw' with Craig's List.

I have been a freelance Chicago Videographer for thirty years and here's my advice:

The best option is to ask another producer who they have used but if you don't have a personal referral there are several directories that I go to. I would avoid the crewing services, even Crews Control. I shot for them for many years but in the last several years they have changed the way they pick someone for your assignment: now they will assign a DP that is closest to your job rather than who may be best. I know this because I live in the far northern suburbs and they would never call me for a downtown gig. They must have a program that compares zip codes or something since many shooters charge portal-to-portal which is an old union rule I never used. Crewing services are best for finding shooters in the boon docks.

Professional shooters list on http://broadcastvideo.com/freelance.html These are experienced pros so you won't have to filter through wedding shooters, newbies, etc. Another site that pros are on is http://mandy.com/ and productionhub.com There are many others but these are where the pros tend to list.

Also, on my site I have a list of ALL the good crewing sites, since I have to find crews often: http://www.nedmiller.com/video-links.asp But I would avoid a crewing service unless you have absolutely no time to do it yourself. You'd have a DP showing up who has taken a 15-20% hit on their rate as it is. Best to be able to interview over the phone and establish a rapport. You can tell a lot about one's personality and chemistry just on the phone whereas a service acts as a buffer, despite all their PR.

Lastly, in most of the major markets I know my counterparts so if you contact me I can tell you about Boston.